Night Rush
by Almost Romantic
Summary: After an encounter with a strange grey pony without a face, Night Rush is forced to travel through history to stop the "Schism". However, will he be able to stop it, or will he be the cause of it...?
1. Chapter 1

"Night Rush, get down here!"

A dark blue-coated pegasus colt groaned and buried his face into his pillow, trying to shut out the sound of his mother's voice. He sat there for a moment, not even breathing, as his mind and body struggled to wake up at the early hour; no matter how many days in a row they held school, his body never seemed to get used to being forced awake.

He slid out of bed, flanks-first, coming to a sitting position next to his bed. Absentmindedly, he rubbed his flank with a forehoof and looked back at it; _Still blank, _he thought to himself. He didn't really know why he checked every morning anymore—after a solid ten years after everypony else typically got their cutie marks, he didn't really expect one to show up overnight. Nonetheless, he checked anyway every morning; if one _did _happen to appear, he would naturally want to be the first to know about it.

He looked around at his room groggily, though there wasn't really much to look at. His bed was nestled in the corner of his room, next to his window. At the foot of his bed was his dresser, with a few pieces of jewelry and a mirror sitting on top of it. A small flight of stairs led down to the door to his room. At the top of the stairs sat a short hat and coat rack, which held a brownish-black leather fedora with a red ribbon around it for decoration.

He groaned as he got to his hooves and walked over to his dresser—which was sort of a misnomer. There were no clothes of any kind in it; it was more like a tall nightstand with drawers. He grabbed two golden rings with his front hooves and deftly threaded them through the two holes in his right ear. His mother had had a fit when he came home with his ear pierced—in two places, no less—but had eventually gotten used to the idea, simply rolling her eyes whenever she saw him messing with them. He reached to his back left leg and shifted the golden ring that wrapped around it down a little bit so that it rested just above his hock; it had shifted upwards slightly during the night.

He reached behind his head and preened his feathers until they were straight, and grabbed a comb and ran it through his long (for a colt), brown mane and tail. He glanced into a mirror and, satisfied with his appearance, he walked down the small flight of stairs and out his door, grabbing his hat and putting it on his head with one deft motion, slamming his door behind him. Trotting into the kitchen, he grabbed an apple from the basket on the counter and trotted out the front door, yelling a "Goodbye!" at his mom.

His house was a fairly simple, two-story log cabin next to the library. The roof had shingles, unlike most of the other houses in Ponyville. There wasn't very much to it, inside or out: his family was comprised mostly of accountants, and since there wasn't much need of such things where money flowed freely and taxes were at the lowest they had been for a century, they didn't have very many possessions. It never bothered Night Rush, of course; he was content to take things as they came.

He trotted down the road, yawning drearily, to Sugarcube Corner for his morning snack. His schedule at the school had him studying until nearly four in the afternoon with only a few bathroom breaks in between, so he wanted to have a little more than an apple for breakfast. Sweets weren't exactly the breakfast of champions, but it was better than nothing.

Night Rush opened the door to the sweet shop, the familiar tinkle of the bell attached to the door as welcoming as the wonderful, cinnamon and flower leaden air that filled Sugarcube Corner. Nopony appeared to be at downstairs at the moment, so he went ahead and started browsing the shop's wares, ogling at the delicious-looking, freshly baked pastries and confections that lined the shelves in the glass counter.

"Hey, Rushie! D'you want your usual?" A pink party pony's voice greeted him suddenly.

Night Rush smiled, not turning away from the counter. Pinkie Pie got on every one of his last nerves, but she somehow managed to make him smile while she was doing it. "I think I'll try something new this morning. How much are those rainbow cupcakes?" He asked, pointing through the glass counter to a few cupcakes with rainbow-colored icing. "I've heard that rainbows are really spicy, but—Pinkie Pie?" He looked around the shop floor; Pinkie was nowhere to be seen. He looked up in the rafters and under the tables, but Pinkie was still strangely missing.

"Uhm… Pinkie?" Perplexed, he turned back to the counter, only to be greeted by a certain eccentric pink pony.

"I'm right here, silly!" Pinkie Pie said from behind the counter. "And those cupcakes are for immortal ponies only. Apparently, our digestive systems can't contain the sheer amount of capsaicin, and it disassemble a vast majority of the enzymes in our small intestines and the proteins in our cells, thus making it really, really hard to live.

Night Rush simply smiled and nodded. "Sure. Well, then, if the rainbow cupcakes will kill me, then I think I'll have my usual."

Pinkie Pie grinned and bounded away into the next room, making Night Rush wince as a few pots and pans crashed to the ground from Pinkie's excitedness. She emerged within a few seconds carrying a small cardboard box with a bow on top of it on her head, balancing it with her ears. "Here ya go! I threw a surprise in there, just for you!" Her grin grew even wider in anticipation.

Night Rush eyed the box on top of Pinkie's head. "That doesn't look very much like my usual."

Pinkie somehow nodded without the box falling off of her head. "Your usual is _inside _the box, silly. But I threw a surprise in there, too!"

"Why a surprise? Did I forget to mark my calendar for something?"

"Nope! It's today, so you get a present along with your usual."

Night Rush smiled warmly; it wasn't exactly unheard of for Pinkie to randomly give out presents, but he had never been the subject of her spontaneous generosity before.

"So, what's in here?" Night Rush asked.

"You'll have to open it and see!" Pinkie said, balancing on one front hoof and extending her neck towards Night Rush.

Night Rush reached up and took the box off of her head, smiling. "So… you want me to open it now?"

Pinkie nodded vigorously and fell back on all four hooves, the wait obviously killing her.

"_Right_ now?"

Pinkie squealed and prostrated herself at Night Rush's hooves, her own hooves pushed together in a mock prayer. "Yes please!" She squealed.

"Well," Night Rush said as slowly as possible, "If you're sure that you're sure…" He paused, taking a very slow breath. "Then, I guess I'll open it now."

Pinkie Pie seemed to teleport from the ground to a sitting position next to Night Rush, buzzing slightly with excitement.

Night Rush let out a snicker and, sitting back on his haunches, pulled at the bow; the knot came loose easily, and he stalled for a little more time by putting it into a neat little pile by his hooves. Pinkie squirmed at this; he wasn't sure if she was aware that he was torturing her on purpose.

Night Rush opened the flaps on the cardboard box and cocked his head to the side. "What… is this?" He asked, pulling the object out and turning it over in his hoof.

It was a large golden ring—or, at least, it used to be. It was covered in tarnish and what looked to be moss, but it obviously used to be a piece of decorative jewelry.

"It's your ring, silly! I found it the other day, and I knew that it was yours, so I gave it back! I hope you didn't miss it too badly." Pinkie seemed to hesitate slightly at this; she was obviously slightly worried that Night Rush might get mad at her for not giving him his ring as soon as she found it.

"Pinkie, I'm still wearing my ring," Night Rush protested, looking back at his ring as if to assure himself that it was, indeed, still on his leg.

"But… it's yours…" She assured him. "I know it is! Look, it even has the little writing on it!"

Night Rush looked closer at the ring; it took him a minute to find it, but sure enough, there was the inscription that all of his personal items always bore: _The Sky is Forever; the Future is Eternity. _A few of the letters had been scratched off here and there, but it was clearly the exact same style of writing as his ring.

"Well. It's my ring, or a really good fake. But you'd be giggling like crazy if this was a prank, so…" Night Rush trailed off, lost in his own thoughts. He held the ring in one hoof and fumbled with the brim of his fedora with the other; it had somehow gotten slightly bent out of shape.

Pinkie put a hoof to her chin, appearing deep in thought. "Aliens?" She suggested, motioning with her forehooves.

Night Rush snorted. "I think we can check that off the list of things that _isn't _behind this." He tapped the floor with a back hoof. "Well! I can't sit around here all day. I'll eat my breakfast and be out of your hair."

Pinkie smiled her classic, patented, Pinkie Pie smile. "Okie-dokie-loki! I gotta get back to the kitchens, 'cause I don't want one of my new cakes to burn. But I'll talk to ya later!" With that, she bounced away into the kitchen, leaving Night Rush to ponder his present and munch on his breakfast of a fried apple pie.

… …

Night Rush trotted through Ponyville's streets on his way to the schoolhouse, humming a mellow tune to himself. He had temporarily forgotten about the curious ring, and was taking a quick shortcut in between 'Sofas and Quills' and 'The Barn', which was a cross between a restaurant and a nightclub. He turned the corner, heading towards the schoolhouse…

… And then slammed face-first into a wall of dark grey fur.

Night Rush shook the stars out of his eyes and sat on his haunches, rubbing his nose. Looking up, he said, "You, sir, have some kick-flank pecs, and… uh… _what_."

The grey stallion had no face. Instead, he had a skull with a few pieces of rotting carrion stuck between his teeth; he exhaled, the rancid, rattling rush of air nearly choking Night Rush.

"Somepony needs a tic-tac," Night Rush quipped, immediately cursing himself mentally; he had an awful habit of saying inappropriate things when he was too scared to think straight.

The grey pony's face appeared to scowl. "Silence, mortal. You will come with me. You will ask no questions, and you will speak only when you are spoken to. Nopony else can see me besides you. Do you understand?" The grey pony's voice was a mix between a whisper and a blood-curdling scream; Night Rush assumed that the pony was male, although he couldn't tell.

"S-sure." Night Rush stammered.

The grey pony did a quick about-face and started trotting away. Night Rush hesitated for a moment, still too freaked out to move, and then shakily started to canter behind the grey pony. Night Rush gulped and started looking around; nobody seemed to notice the grey pony without skin on his face, so he assumed that the grey pony was serious about everything he said. He also assumed that very bad things would happen to him if he asked a question or spoke without being spoken to.

The grey pony led Night Rush to the Everfree forest; Night Rush was panting slightly, since the only exercise that he got to do normally was weather control training, which was mind-numbingly easy work. The mile-long trot had winded him, but the grey pony didn't seem to be breathing hard. Or breathing at all.

The Everfree forest was as dank and depressing as ever, with its overhanging vines hanging from limbs and the moss choking out all of the trees and keeping grass from growing on the ground. The spongy carpet was slightly bouncy and squishy beneath Night Rush's hooves, and he had to resist the urge to squirm; the feeling was alien and weird. Even in the daytime, the canopy of trees blocked out nearly all of Celestia's sun, allowing the moss to grow freely.

"This is the Everfree forest," the grey pony said.

"Really, now," Night rush said, immediately regretting it. _Dammit. Again with the inappropriate things._

The grey pony paused. "You… infuriate me." He said it with the exact same tone that he had used earlier, and the grey pony's body language hadn't changed in the slightest, but Night Rush could simply _feel _the hate and anger coming off of the pony. "As I was saying, this is the Everfree forest. It is named 'Everfree' because it is free from the constraints of time. The forest you see before you has been the exact same since the dawn of creation."

Something short-circuited inside Night Rush's brain at that exact moment. "But why is that important? And why did you take me here? Why don't you have a face? How do you talk without lips or a tongue? What's your name? Were you always like that, or did something happen to you? How do you know all of this? How'd you get so tall?" The words tumbled out of Night Rush's mouth before he could stop them—or even comprehend them, for that matter.

The grey pony snorted. "You are insolent and you are stupid. However, I was ordered to bring you to help stop the schism."

"The schism?" Night Rush had recovered from his mental holiday, but he was still incredibly dazed.

The grey pony said nothing, and simply extended a hoof towards Night Rush's face.

"Ohcelestiapleasedontkillme."

"Silence. Take my hoof."

"Huh?"

"_Take. My hoof." _

"Oh, r-right. Sorry." Night Rush extended a shaky his shaky hoof towards the grey pony's. He hesitated slightly just before touching the grey pony's hoof, and then made contact.

And then the world imploded right before Night Rush's eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

Night Rush blinked rapidly, his overloaded mind trying desperately to take in what had just happened.

In truth, it had felt like somepony had ripped his skin off, coated it in salt, and then put it back onto his body. Every part of him felt gritty and dirty, and most of all, he was _thirsty! _He couldn't remember the last time that he had ever been quite this thirsty. He tried to say something—he wasn't sure why—but it ended up as a dry rasp and a cough.

"Time travel has that effect on mortal ponies. Some ponies get sick to their stomachs, some get headaches… You simply appear to be thirsty, so consider yourself lucky," the grey pony said.

"T-time travel?" Night Rush managed to rasp. He looked around, still blinking like an owl.

In front of him, nothing major seemed to have changed. The trees were quite a bit smaller, but other than that, they still had the same shape and size. A bird chirped here, and a squirrel scrambled through the brush there—which was odd, since Night Rush didn't notice anything besides plants and bugs living in the Everfree forest before.

And then he turned around.

The sprawling cottages and quaint houses were gone, replaced by a large field of grass. Wildflowers dotted the field here and there, and Night Rush thought that he saw the grass part a little bit as a rabbit munched got tired of munching on a certain leaf and moved on to another patch of weeds.

"Where the _hell_ is Ponyville!"

"In about three hundred years, the first establishment—a bar, of all the things—will be erected in this clearing. A hotel is erected afterwards, and a small town soon follows." The grey pony had taken on an almost bemused tone. "Your town is much older than most of you ponies realize."

"_What is going on?" _Night Rush managed to scream, despite the fact that it felt like there were shards of glass in his throat.

"We are in the past," the grey pony said as if it were the most obvious thing ever.

Night Rush narrowed his eyes at the grey pony and opened his mouth to speak, but immediately shut after a particularly nasty throb of pain shot through his throat. "I need water. We can talk about this afterwards…"

The grey pony nodded and, raising his head, inhaled deeply. He pointed with a hoof towards the far end of the grassy field, saying, "There's a small stream just through those trees."

Night Rush nodded and started walking in the general direction of the stream, the grey pony walking a short distance behind him.

… …

"So," Night Rush started, wiping his muzzle with a forehoof. He had sat his hat down in the grass next to him, and was lying comfortably along the mossy bank of the small stream across from the grey pony, who was still standing stoically. He had stuck most of his muzzle into the six inch-deep stream, taking long draughts of the crystal-clear water, coming up only to take a breath. The gritty feeling had subsided, though his hooves and other extremities still tingled a little bit. "First things first: what's your name? I can't just call you the grey pony—you're scary as hell, but that doesn't mean I can't show you a little decency."

"I told you not to ask any questions," the grey pony growled.

"I think I deserve at least five minutes' worth of straight answers."

"Alright," the grey pony grudgingly agreed. "You deserve at least a few answers, especially since you have been taken here, despite not knowing anything about me or where I took you. My name is Fate, but most ponies know me as Death. You may call me either; it makes no difference to me."

Night Rush fought back a shudder as he realized the implications of his name. _Does that mean that he guides ponies to the afterlife? Is that where we are? _"So, Mr. Fate. Where are we, exactly?"

"We are in Ponyville."

"No, we're not. We're in the woods next a field. Ponyville is nowhere in sight."

"That is because Ponyville hasn't been built yet."

Night Rush narrowed his eyes. "You make it sound like we went back in time."

Fate nodded slowly. "That is correct."

"But that's impossible!" Night Rush flicked his ears in annoyance. "You can teleport through space, but you can't go through time! It hasn't even been tested or anything like that! I don't think that Celestia and Luna can do that, and they're immortal!"

"Keep in mind that neither Celestia, Luna, or I are immortal."

"What difference does that make?" Night Rush cocked his head.

"It is of no consequence right now."

Night Rush sighed; Fate's increasingly vague answers were starting to annoy him. "Fine. If we've gone backwards through time, then how far back are we?"

"It has been approximately eight thousand years since this world was created; or, if you prefer, 610 B.C."

"_610 Before Celestia? That's nearly six thousand years ago!" _Shrieked Night Rush hysterically.

"Incorrect. 610 Before Celestia is right now, not six thousand years ago." Night Rush glared daggers at him, but Fate looked as impassive as ever, his stiff-looking posture betraying no emotions. "It is common for mortal ponies to get what you call 'culture shock'. Although, I do not see how one could get it; there is no culture to speak of."

Night Rush stared at him. "Did… did you just try to be funny?"

Fate nodded slowly. "I have been told that I am too serious and depressing, and that I should try to be funny every once in a while. Did it work at all?"

Night Rush forced a small smile. "A little bit, yeah." He massaged his temples with his forehooves. "Six thousand years in the past. Have Celestia and Luna even been born yet? Or created, or however they came into being?"

"Yes," Fate nodded. "Right now, they are relatively young; approximately your age."

"Okay." He scratched the tip of his nose with his hoof. "What's the Schism?"

"I cannot tell you."

"What? Why not?"

"Because you have to find out for yourself."

"Oh, great." Night Rush rolled his eyes. "I get to go on this epic journey, meet Celestia and Luna, fight some gigantic, evil _something_ and develop into a better pony along the way, and I'll realize that the Schism was right under my nose the whole time, and simply by being there I stopped it."

Fate stared at him for a moment. At least, Night Rush thought that he was staring at him; it was hard to tell, seeing as Fate didn't have any eyes. "That is one of the most ridiculous things that I have ever heard."

Night Rush narrowed his eyes at him. "So, are you going to be my guide through the whole thing or something, or are you just my taxi driver?"

"That depends. Have the effects of the time jump worn off?"

Night Rush rolled his tongue through his mouth; the gritty feeling had gone away, as had most of the tingling. "Mostly. My hooves, ears, and nose still feel a little funny, though."

"Then there is no longer a chance that you will experience any ill affects from the time jump, and I no longer have any reason to stay." With that, Fate disappeared in a flash of blinding, multicolored light before Night Rush could protest.

"That's it? That's _it? _You're just going to leave me out here on my own?" Shouted Night Rush at the spot that Fate had been standing mere seconds earlier, blearily trying to blink the spots out of his eyes. He waited for a few seconds, as if expecting Fate to hear him and come back, and then sighed. "Wonderful."


	3. Chapter 3

"_The world is a history book; we can write whatever we want inside it, and it's my job to make sure the pages keep turning."_

—_**Fate **_

Night Rush was not one for staying in one spot when he was nervous or anxious. In fact, as soon as Fate had disappeared, Night Rush had picked up his hat, took out the tarnished ring that he had stuck underneath his wing for safekeeping and set it on the ground, and flew up above the treetops, looking for some sign of civilization.

It wasn't very fruitful.

Nothing but trees and rolling fields of grass covered the ground; there were no houses, huts, or even paved or dirt roads or paths. A glance up to Canterlot Mountain told him that Canterlot didn't even exist yet. Muttering to himself, he flew higher and squinted at the horizon; none of the telltale bumps and ridges of the buildings of Manehattan and Phillydelphia to the north nor the sprawling brown clusters of log houses of Appleoosa in the sandy plains to the west. It was a very subtle change, but one that unnerved him; he didn't realize how much he used the cities in the distance as a compass until he couldn't see them.

Night Rush glided back down to the clearing in a large circle, a hoof to his chin in thought. _I'm six thousand years in the past, there's no civilization anywhere around, and it looks like the Everfree Forest expands to most of this region of Equestria. _

_Which means that there are monsters ten times my size that want to eat me. _

_Which means that I need shelter. _

_And fire. _

_Or perhaps I could pick a direction and fly until I find something. _

_Or perhaps I could fly until I realize what an awful idea picking a direction and flying in it was. _

He landed heavily on the ground, sighing. _Or I could sit here and think in circles. _He reached down and grabbed the tarnished golden ring, tucking it back underneath his wing. _I need a better way of carrying this… _He thought absentmindedly.

"You, pony, seem to be a little lost today. May I offer a hoof to help you find your way?" Came an exotic, rhythmic voice.

Night Rush started and whirled around. Before him stood a rather odd sight, one that was rarely seen in Ponyville: she was only slightly shorter than the average pony, with stripes decorating her entire hide and multiple golden rings molded around her neck and on her upper front left leg. Large golden rings dangled from both of her ears, and her cutie mark consisted of a large tribal sun with a spiral inside.

"Zecora? How'd you get here?"

"For many a year, this forest has been my home. I came here long ago to make a life of my own," she replied, turning away. "Now, do you accept my offer of hospitality? Or will you stay here and risk your own fatality?"

Night Rush rubbed a forehoof across his chin. "Sure, I'd rather avoid getting eaten today."

"Then follow me to my home," she said, turning and walking away. "Please follow me, and do not roam."

"What other choice do I have?" Night Rush asked, to nopony in particular.

… …

"No wonder I didn't see this place when I looked around—it's a _tree._ Is that thing even alive?" Night Rush wondered, gaping at Zecora's house.

Zecora's house was interesting, to say the least. Like the Ponyville library, it was made out of a giant, living tree—something that Night Rush could never quite wrap his head around—but it had more of a mysterious aura. Nothing about it was malevolent, like he had subconsciously expected; after all the hype about Zecora being an evil enchantress and everything, he would have thought that most everything about her would be creepy.

However, even the inside of Zecora's house, with the tribal masks and large cauldron in the center of the main room, Night Rush felt relaxed and at home. "So, how did you get here? Fate brought me here, but did he bring you here too?" He asked, taking his hat off and putting it on a hook near the door.

Zecora raised an eyebrow. "Fate brings many ponies to many find many faces; some to see sights, some to experience places. Perhaps if you told me your complete story, the rest of the tale will open like a morning glory?"

"Well, I was going about my business—getting ready for school, grabbing a bite to eat, that sort of thing— when out of nowhere, this grey pony without skin on his face appeared. I ran into him, and he told me to follow him into the Everfree Forest. He was really intimidating, so I followed him into… uh… yeah, the forest." Night Rush paused for a moment, realizing exactly how bad of an idea following an unknown, creepy pony into an equally creepy forest was. "And then he sent me back in time about six thousand years, then I flew up to look around, and then you found me, and now here we are." He fished the tarnished ring out from underneath his ring and showed it to Zecora. "This is my ring. Except, it's got at least a few hundred years of tarnish on it, and my ring hasn't even existed that long. Not to mention, I'm still wearing my ring." He turned to show Zecora the ring on his back leg.

Zecora inspected the two rings, a hoof to her chin in thought. "That is a most interesting tale, without a doubt." She frowned. "Did you glean the name of this pony, or was it something that you did not find out?"

"His name was Fate, but he said that most ponies just called him Death."

Zecora's eyebrows shot up. "You have met with Death, and yet you live on… In this game, pony, you are surely much more than just a pawn."

"Great to know," sighed Night Rush. "Now please, answer me this, and cut that rhyming crap out—it's getting annoying. You live in this exact tree six thousand years from now. You look almost exactly the same, except you might be a few years younger now. Are you immortal or something?"

Zecora burst into laughter, throwing her head back. "I believe you have me mistaken for somepony else," she said once she recovered enough to speak. "Surely, there is—"

"No, it's you," said Night Rush, cutting her off. "And yes, I'm sure."

The zebra shrugged. "Fate has many odd ways about him. Although, a few of his plans sink instead of swim…" She trailed off, lost in thought.

"You sound like you know personally."

"There is nothing alive who does not know the touch of Fate. Without it, nothing would ever change its state," Zecora said softly, her ears lowering slightly from their usual rapt attention.

Night Rush said nothing for a while, looking around at the various decorations in the mysterious zebra's house.

"So, pony, what will you do now? Surely you will do something; nothing is a thing which I do not allow," Zecora said, her ears straightening again to their normal upright positions.

"I…" He thought for a moment. "I have no idea. Do you know where I could find Celestia and Luna? They might be able to help me find my way…"

"Celestia and Luna, our young princesses two? They have not been seen in years quite a few."

"What? Does anypony know where they went?" Night Rush asked, aghast. It wasn't like Celestia to abandon her subjects like that. Nopony really knew Luna well at all, but he assumed that she wouldn't up and abandon the ponies of Equestria either.

"Nopony knows for sure," Zecora replied, walking away to fiddle with a few bottles hanging from strings from the ceiling. "They were last seen battling an evil most impure."

"Where do _you_ think they are?"

"_I_ believe that they are in the plains to the west," Zecora walked back to Night Rush, carrying two bottles, and handed him one of the bottles of… something. He couldn't tell what it was, but it wasn't a liquid. "You might need this, if you are to go on this quest."

"What quest?" Night Rush cocked his head.

Zecora raised an eyebrow.

"Oh. To find the princesses. Right." He smiled sheepishly, and then shook the bottle of whatever-it-was. "What's in here?"

"That, pony, is a special medicine to counteract hunger. Add some water, give it a shake, swallow it quickly, and hunger no longer."

"Wow, really?" Night Rush grinned and held the bottle up to the light, trying to see inside it. "How does it work?"

"That is of no consequence," Zecora said, waving him off with a hoof. "However, there is this, which is of much more importance." She handed him the second bottle.

Night Rush nearly dropped the bottle when the zebra handed it to him; it was impossibly more heavy than it looked. It had to weigh nearly forty pounds! "What's in here?"

"In that bottle is my most rare brew; it gives one enough strength to turn a stone into a molten stew."

"So, it lets me breathe fireballs or something?" Night Rush couldn't help but grin at the possibilities.

"The effects will differ between your opponents," the zebra said, nervously pawing at the floor. "Though no matter the form, it tears down your foe, component by component."

"It disintegrates them?" Night Rush's smile faded.

Zecora nodded. "But be warned, pony; this potion has wicked side effects. You must only use it when there is another pony to protect."

"What are the side effects?"

"You die," Zecora said simply and bluntly.

Night Rush's ears flattened back against his skull. "So I get tons of magical power, and then I die." _A useful last resort, I suppose. But why would she give it to me? _

Zecora nodded. "But, enough of this depressing talk. Come, upstairs we must walk." She turned and walked out of the room.

"Why, what's upstairs…?" Night Rush trailed off, following the zebra out of the room and up a staircase that was molded into the wood of the tree itself. "Oh. That's upstairs."

An entire bedroom was carved into an enormously thick tree branch. While it was fairly spacious for being what it was, Night Rush guessed it to be about five by five paces across, and he had to duck his head just to stand in the room. A small, circular window let the early evening light shine onto the foot of the bed. Zecora lay on the straw bed, smiling at him. "You may rest here for the night. Then, I suggest you depart at first light." She tossed her head, her Mohawk-styled mane flopping around.

"I see." Night Rush looked around nervously. "So… that's all I'm going to be doing here? Sleeping, and then leaving?"

"Well, that is not the only thing that you will be doing." The smile spread further across her face, making Night Rush's ear twitch nervously.

"Uh, Z-Zecora, you're really nice and all, but, uh—" Night Rush stammered.

"There is a brew downstairs that is stewing, and—"

"I mean, I've n-never even b-been with a m-mare before—"

"Of course, pony, you do not need to feel forced into it—"

"Just, y'know, n-nopony's ever really t-taken a l-liking to me—"

"I will need you to venture into the forest to find an ingredient or two—"

"Of course, my barn door doesn't swing the other way or anything like that, it's just—"

They both stopped talking at the same time. "What are you _talking _about?" They said in unison.

"I was asking for your help with a special brew of mine. Though, I believe you were thinking along a different line…" Zecora trailed off, raising an eyebrow at Night Rush.

Night Rush gulped. "I, uh… y'see… uh…"

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Just because I am on a bed, does _not_ mean you should not think with your head."

Night Rush flinched. "S-sorry…"

She rolled her eyes and got up off of the bed, swishing her tail as she walked by him. "Colts," she muttered just loudly enough for him to hear.

… …

Morning came much too early for Night Rush.

Celestia's sun shone brilliantly through the tiny window (_Is it even Celestia's sun yet? _He thought to himself) and, despite Night Rush's attempt to shut the outside world out with h is pillow over his head, he was already mostly awake. Grumbling, he sat up in his bed, only to smack his forehead on the roof of the room.

Rubbing his forehead absentmindedly, he sighed as he remembered where he was. _So. It wasn't a dream. This is real… I'm six thousand years out of place, in the middle of the Everfree Forest, staying at the former Evil Enchantress's house, and about to go on some crazy-flank quest to find Celestia and Luna because they're hiding for some reason. _He flicked his throbbing ear. _And I slept with my earrings in. Celestia damn it. _

He picked up the tarnished golden ring from where he had stowed it underneath the bed and tucked it underneath his wing. He wasn't sure why, but it just felt _right _to be in contact with the ring as much as possible. The other ring—the one that was still on his leg—tingled occasionally, as if it had a tiny static charge running through it.

Remembering to duck his head, he walked out of the small bedroom and down the stairs. He found Zecora murmuring something over the large cauldron in the middle of the main room, pouring a powder into the bubbling concoction as she did so. "'Mornin'," he greeted sleepily.

Zecora greeted him with a small smile. "It is a little later than first light, but better late than never to begin your flight."

Night Rush nodded, yawning. "Is there anything that I can do to repay you? I slept in your bed, ate your food, and you've given me two bottles and some saddlebags full of what I'm assuming to be fairly valuable stuff." He slung his borrowed saddlebags over his shoulders, pleased that they fit; they didn't hinder his wings, and he could tell that they wouldn't chafe. Zecora had given them to him the night before, insisting that he had more use for them than she did.

Zecora simply shook her head and held up a hoof. "Your help with my brew last night was more than enough," she said. "To demand payment would be a guff."

Night Rush smiled gratefully and, rearing back on his hind legs, embraced the zebra in a full-on hug.

"No payment is required from you, Night Rush," she said again, using his name for the first time. "Now, please—you are making me blush!"

Night Rush disengaged the hug, plopping back down onto all four of his four hooves. Neither of them said anything for a few moments. "How do you know, Zecora?" Night Rush asked suddenly.

"Know what, my pony friend?" She shook her head. "Your questions sometimes confuse me to no end."

"You know what's going to happen. Otherwise, you wouldn't have given me the hunger stuff and the superpower potion right off the bat like that," he said accusingly.

Zecora's ears folded backwards. "Stupid pony, you have met Fate and came away without harm. Most ponies, by now, would be at least missing an arm," she growled.

"So, because of that, you think I'm special?"

"Not yet, no," the now-irked zebra admitted. "However, you will go farther and reach more ponies that you may ever know."

Silence rang through the air for a moment or two. "You sound like you know what Fate can do from experience," he said, more as a comment than a question.

Zecora was silent for a moment. "Fate is a cold, unforgiving pony. He can control us as easily as unicorns can control the world around them, except he has no physical limitations," she whispered. Night Rush raised an eyebrow at her; without the rhymes, her speech sounded somewhat odd and out of place. "You are indeed a lucky pony to have been in his presence and come out of it unscathed." She shivered slightly, staring off into the distance.

Night Rush thought back to when he had first spoken to Zecora: _I came here long ago to make a life of my own, _she had said. "What happened? Did something happen to your family?"

Zecora looked at him, and for a split second, Night Rush saw a deep chasm of sorrow in the zebra's eyes. She blinked a few times, then turned and picked up Night Rush's hat from the hook on the door. "I happened," she said bluntly, handing him his hat. "Now get out of my home."


End file.
